


The Otter Penguins and Polar Bees

by Mauve_Avenger



Series: The Kids Are Alright [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Dadko, The Talk, Uncle Sokka, big brother sokka, the birds and the bees
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28033407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mauve_Avenger/pseuds/Mauve_Avenger
Summary: While the girls are out, Sokka and Zuko decide it's time to tell Aang about the facts of life.
Relationships: Aang & Sokka & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: The Kids Are Alright [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2053389
Comments: 10
Kudos: 114





	The Otter Penguins and Polar Bees

**Author's Note:**

> There is no graphic talk of sex in this piece, however, I do use anatomically correct terms. If that bothers you, please stop here. (A Sequel to "Summer Bloom")

Aang was thoroughly annoyed. The girls had left on their day out an hour ago, but he was still stuck washing dishes. Normally, he would bend water over everything a few times, but Zuko wasn’t satisfied with his efforts. He had made Aang wash the same plate three times because according to the fussy prince, there was still food stuck to the plate. It wasn’t as if it were meat. It was _rice_. And they would probably have rice again for dinner, so what did it really matter? When Aang said as much, Zuko shot him a look of open disgust and shoved the plate back in his direction. 

“You’re going to learn how to do dishes properly,” he declared. “In fact, I think it’d be a good idea for this to be your responsibility going forward.”

“You can’t do that!” Aang protested. “Besides, Katara always cleans the dishes.” Zuko turned to Aang and arched his good brow at him.  
  


“You think that’s fair?” he asked. “Katara also does most of the cooking and laundry and sewing. Everyone else at least _tries_ to contribute, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do anything without being told. This will be good for you. Think of it as part of your fire bending training.”

“I can’t use fire bending to wash dishes,” Aang pointed out with a scowl. “I’m practicing my _water_ bending.” 

“Well, you’re not very good at it,” Zuko said, passing Aang a bowl that still had a film of grease on it. “You shouldn’t rely on your bending to do everything.”

“Katara uses waterbending to wash dishes,” Aang grumbled. He stopped just short of snatching the bowl from Zuko. 

“ _Katara_ is a master waterbender,” Zuko countered.  
  


“ _I’m_ a master waterbender, too!” 

Zuko cast Aang a sidelong glance at that declaration, but kept his thoughts to himself. 

“She also knows the difference between washing a dish and just rinsing it,” he said instead. “And handwashing dishes ties into fire bending because it teaches you discipline. My uncle made me wash the dishes for the whole ship at _least_ twice a week.”

  
“And it helped with your fire bending?” Aang asked skeptically. 

“Yes,” Zuko said firmly. “It taught me the importance of doing things right the first time, and listening to my fire bending teacher. It also taught me the value of being a productive member of a team. Take this,” Zuko handed Aang a scrub brush and a cake of soap, “and make sure these dishes are clean. The sooner you get done, the sooner we can move on.” 

Aang could tell by the stubborn set of Zuko’s jaw that he was done arguing. Reluctantly Aang took the soap and rag and cleaned the bowl until the film was gone and the glazed ceramic squeaked when he dragged his finger over it. Zuko nodded approvingly and handed Aang the next dish. When they were done with the dishes, they turned to the rest of the kitchen, to Aang’s dismay, but in twenty minutes, the mess was cleaned to Zuko’s satisfaction. They went out to the courtyard and found Sokka waiting for them on the steps. 

“You could have helped us,” Aang said, scowling. “It took _forever_ to clean the kitchen.”

“It didn’t take you an hour,” Sokka scoffed. “Besides, _I_ was busy making a lesson plan.”

“Here we go.” Zuko rolled his eyes. 

“And what was your plan?” Sokka shot back. “Just wing it? This is a delicate topic and we need approach it carefully.” 

“We’re not going to cover everything in one day,” Zuko said. “You’re overthinking this. We should start with the basics.” He turned to Aang. “Do you know _anything_ about sex?” Aang blanched at the question.

“Of course he doesn’t,” Sokka said. “He thought Toph was pregnant because she started her monthly cycle.” 

“That’s because _you_ said-”  
  


“ _I_ said that she _could_ get pregnant. Not that she _was_.” 

“That’s enough!” Zuko cut in. He took a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Aang, tell us what you know about sex.”

“I...I know it’s how babies are born,” Aang said. “I visited my friend Kuzon while his mom was pregnant, and he told me that his parents had sex.” 

“Okay,” Zuko said, nodding slowly. “Do you know what that means?”

“Not really,” Aang admitted sheepishly. “I asked Kuzon, but he said he didn’t want to talk about it, so I let it go. I asked Gyatso about it afterwards, and he told me that a woman needs a man’s seed to get pregnant.”

“Okay, yeah.” Zuko exchanged relieved glances with Sokka. “That’s true.” 

  
“He never told me what kind of seed though,” Aang continued. He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I mean, we kept a garden at the temple, but he never showed me which seed a man was supposed to use to get a woman pregnant.” Zuko’s face fell at that. Sokka slapped his forehead in frustration. 

“That’s...not what he meant,” Zuko said. 

Explaining the different functions of a penis was both easier and much more difficult than the older boys anticipated. Easier because, having been raised by men with only other boys around, Aang was familiar and unbashful about discussing the anatomy. It was difficult because apparently none of the monks had thought it was time to explain things like erections and semen to Aang yet.

“Well, when did _you_ find all of this stuff out?” Aang asked irritably after Sokka had lamented his cavernous gaps in knowledge. 

“When I was eight!” Sokka threw his hands up in frustration. “I get that you didn’t know many women growing up, but you’re _twelve!_ Haven’t you been curious about all the weird things your body is doing? _I_ was freaked out when I noticed hair growing...well, _everywhere_. And Dad and Gran Gran had been warning me about puberty for years.”

“I learned a bit later than that,” Zuko admitted. “I was ten the first time I had a wet dream. That was when my mother decided it was time for me to learn about ‘the duty of kings’.”

“Is _that_ what you call it in the Fire Nation?” Sokka guffawed. Zuko shot him a dark look. 

“Uncle was in town then,” he continued. “He is the one who gave me the details. He thought that someone would have told me by then, but things at the palace are pretty sheltered.” 

“I’ll bet,” Sokka snickered. “ _Duty of kings…”_ Zuko found a small pebble on the ground and threw it in Sokka’s direction. 

“The monks just taught us to meditate when something bothered us,” Aang said self consciously. “They told us that internal reflection was important to understanding what was happening with our bodies.” Sokka stared at Aang, slack-jawed. He never would have guessed that the Air Nomad were so prudish. Still, Aang _was_ very young. Maybe he was misinterpreting something. 

“It doesn’t matter now,” Zuko said. “You’re learning. And at least they told you _something._ ”

“Yeah,’ Aang nodded. “But Gyatso didn’t tell me much. I still don’t know where babies come from. Like...how do they get out of their mother’s stomach?”

“What do you mean _how do they get out?_ ” Sokka demanded. “You were there when Katara delivered baby Hope. You didn’t see it?” Aang shook his head. 

“Katara kicked us out, remember?” he replied. “Then the baby was just...there. ” Sokka slapped his forehead and dragged his hand down his face. 

“Of course,” he grumbled. He sighed and explained, “The baby comes out of the vagina.”

“Sokka!” Zuko hissed. “Do you have to say... _that_?” 

“Oh! So you can say penis with a straight face, but not vagina?” Sokka gave Zuko a scathing look. “You are annoyingly inconsistent.”

“And _you’re_ annoyingly uncouth!” Zuko shot back. “You don’t just _say_ things like that. It’s disrespectful!”  
  


“Of _who_?” Sokka’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Women have vaginas! Gran Gran always taught us to say the actual names of body parts, and that’s what they’re called. Vagina! Vagina! Vagina!”

“You can’t say that!” Zuko shouted. “You’re _not_ a woman!” 

“So what?” Sokka threw his hands up to the sky. “We’re teaching the kid about sex! He _has_ to know the right terms!”

“Um...guys?” Aang timidly cut into what seemed to be devolving into a bickering session. “What’s a vagina?” The boys stared at him for a moment, and then Sokka stood up and headed towards the house.

“That does it,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “I’m getting the diagrams.”

It took nearly half an hour to explain women’s anatomy to Aang, and another twenty minutes to convince him that no, they were _not_ joking about how a baby was born. Sokka did have diagrams, but his art skills left much to be desired, and they just added to Aang’s confusion. After that, they decided it was time for a break. 

Over lunch, the topic switched from the mechanics and biology of sex to something that had been more pressing on Aang's mind. 

“How do you get a girl to like you?” Aang asked as he bit into his melon salad. “I mean _like you_ , like you.” 

“You have to play it cool,” Sokka said. “Don’t be too eager. You have to almost ignore her-”

  
“That is the _dumbest_ thing I’ve ever heard,” Zuko groaned.. 

“Sure...we should all be like you and pine from afar.” Sokka snorted and rolled his eyes at his friend. “If I operated like you, Suki and I would have _never_ gotten together.”

“I do _not_ pine!” Zuko snapped. “And you and Suki got together _in_ _spite_ of your stupidity. Not because of it!” He turned to Aang and looked him in the eye. “ _Don’t_ take Sokka’s advice. If you like a girl, be honest with her.” Aang nodded his head slowly. 

“Okay...but what if you _are_ honest, and she still doesn’t tell you if she likes you back?” he asked. “How long do I have to wait?” 

“Did you tell someone you like her?” Zuko asked, blinking in surprise. Sokka seemed taken aback, too. Who, Zuko wondered, could Aang have possibly confessed to? 

“Well...yeah.” Aang looked away from his friends, a bashful flush darkening his cheeks, making him look even more cherubic than normal. “I mean I didn’t _say_ it, but we did _kiss_ a couple of times.” 

“ _What?”_ Sokka gasped. “You _kissed_? When did that happen?” 

“Who did you kiss?” Zuko asked, his face twisted in confusion. The only logical answer was Toph, but somehow the idea didn’t feel right. 

“It was before the invasion,” Aang told Sokka, his face growing rosier by the second. “A-and at the play.” 

“You kissed her?” Zuko gawped at Aang. He never noticed any special affection between Aang and Toph. It took him a moment to realize that Sokka was looking at him strangely and shaking his head. 

  
“That doesn’t make any sense,” he said almost too quietly to hear. “She never told me…” Aang apparently didn’t hear him. 

  
“She hasn’t said anything about it, though,” he sighed sadly. “I thought I did it right, but she got upset the second time, and she hasn’t even said anything about it.” 

“Woah, woah, woah!” Sokka held his hands up in the Time Out signal. “I’m lost. You said you kissed. Like mutually, or was it _you_ kissing _her_?” 

“Well, the first time, Katara didn’t move away, so-”

“Wait! You kissed Katara?” Zuko shouted. Aang looked at Zuko in confusion. 

“Well, yeah…” he said. “Who did you think I was talking about?” 

“I just...I _thought…”_ The words died on Zuko’s lips. He couldn’t explain what he thought. Not just then.

“Hold on,” Sokka said, raising his hands. “Backup and explain what happened, because _clearly_ there’s something we’re missing. You kissed my sister more than once?” 

The smile that spread across Aang’s face somehow both dreamy and smug. Maybe he _didn’t_ know as much as his friends about the business of love, but he knew more than they gave him credit for. He basked in their surprise for a moment, and then he told them the whole story. 

He explained how he’d kissed Katara for the first time before the invasion on the Day of Black Sun. The older boys peppered him with questions. Did Katara kiss him back? Well, no. But there hadn’t been time for her to react. Had she brought it up since? ...no. But that’s okay. Katara was shy. 

Sokka and Zuko exchanged incredulous glances over Aang’s had after that. When had Katara ever been _shy_? 

Then Aang told the story of his second kiss with Katara. He admitted she had been upset over that, but she hadn’t said she _didn’t_ want him. She was just confused. And Aang was confused by the deep flush of anger on Sokka’s face, or Zuko’s furrowed brow. 

“When a woman tells you ‘she’s confused’,” Sokka said slowly and deliberately through clenched teeth, “take it as a no.”

“But-” Aang started to protest. 

“It’s a no,” Sokka said firmly. 

“No, but-” 

“Aang, if it’s not a _yes,_ ” Zuko explained, “then it’s a no. As a general rule, but _especially_ when it comes to love and sex.” Sokka, in spite of his anger, shot Zuko a sidelong gaze.

“Okay, so _sex_ you can say with a straight face, but not _vagina_?” 

“Would you lay off?” Zuko snapped. “Seriously, let it go.”

“Wait!” Aang jumped in before they could devolve into bickering. “So, I have to ask permission before I kiss a girl? Isn’t that kind of...awkward?” 

“Well…” Sokka stammered and looked to Zuko. The prince seemed to be just as lost for words.

“It’s...well, I mean, you _could_ ,” Zuko said. Aang scrunched his nose up in confusion and irritation.

“Well, if I don’t _have_ to ask, then what was wrong with kissing Katara?” he asked. “I _love_ her, and I wanted her to know.” Zuko turned to Sokka pleadingly. All coyness and pretense was gone. He suspected what the Water Tribe warrior knew, and it didn’t seem to matter anymore. And Sokka, suddenly understanding his sister’s oddly pacifistic behavior with Aang lately, took pity on Zuko. 

“Okay, Aang, it’s like this,” he said. “Not _all_ communication is verbal. In fact, most of it is non-verbal.” 

“What…?” Aang’s face twisted even tighter. It would have been comical had the situation not been so unbearably awkward. Or if the older boys hadn’t been struggling to keep themselves from the brink of anger. Sokka pinched the bridge of his nose and thought for a moment.

“Alright, you know how you communicate with Appa with words, but you also use his reins to tell him what you want?

“So...I should treat Katara like Appa?” Aang asked. Sokka slapped his forehead with his hand. Beside him, Zuko bristled. 

“That’s _not_ what he meant.” The sharpness of Zuko’s voice startled Aang. The prince seemed to notice, because he took a deep breath and tried to speak calmly. 

  
“What Sokka means is that you give Appa a signal without using words,” Zuko explained. “It’s the same way with kissing...and well... _other_ stuff. You give signals, and if the girl you’re interested in feels the same, she’ll give _you_ a signal.”

“Well, what’s the signal?” Aang asked. “And how do I know if Katara gave me a signal or not?”

“If you’re asking if you’re getting a signal, then you probably didn’t get a signal,” Sokka told him. Zuko nodded sagely and repeated,

“If it’s not a _yes_ , then it’s a no.”

Aang scowled at his friends. This was no help at all. 

“How do I signal to _her_ , then?” he asked. “I mean, I thought I was being obvious. I’m nice to her. I gave her a necklace. What did I do wrong?”  
  


“Well...did you ask her how _she_ felt?” Zuko was almost certain he knew the answer to the question. The tell-tale blush on Aang’s face let him know that his guess was right.

“I _tried,_ ” Aang said. “Really, I did! At the play, I told her how I felt, and I asked why we hadn’t gotten together yet. She said she was confused, and I wanted to help her make up her mind.”

“Is _that_ why she was so upset at the play?” Sokka leapt up from his seat and glared down at Aang. “Okay, I am going to walk away because I will hit you if I don’t. Until you learn how to respect boundaries, stay _away_ from my sister! Zuko! You’re up.” With that, Sokka stalked off towards the beach. 

“I don’t understand!” Aang “What did I do wrong?” Zuko turned to Aang with a severe frown. 

“If you walk away from this knowing _anything,”_ he said, “it’s that you need to respect people’s boundaries. What you did to Katara was wrong, and you owe her an apology.” Aang lowered his head, confusion battling with shame. Katara, he reflected, _had_ been avoiding him, but he thought it was the stress of the upcoming battle. 

“I just wanted her to know how I feel,” he said in a small voice. 

“Then you should have talked to her,” Zuko told him. “When you like someone, you don’t force yourself on them. And if they say no, then you respect that. Talking _has_ to come before anything.”

“But you said that the signal is non-verbal,” Aang reminded him. Zuko shook his head. 

“The _signal_ is non-verbal,” he explained. “But the signal comes _after_ you’ve made it clear that you like her and _she’s_ made it clear that she likes you.” 

“What if...what if she doesn’t say yes _or_ no?” Aang asked. 

“If it’s not a yes, it’s a no,” Zuko repeated. It was beginning to sound like a mantra, Aang thought. 

“What if she says no?” Aang chewed his lip nervously. “Do I keep trying? She’ll come around eventually, right?”

“If she says no, then that means no,” Zuko told him firmly. “Leave her alone and move on.” Aang seemed crestfallen. 

“She said she was confused,” Aang pointed out. “That means there’s a chance, right? I could change her mind if-”

“If she didn’t say _yes,”_ Zuko started to say again. 

“Then it’s a _no_ ,” Aang finished bitterly. “So, I’m just supposed to give up? What if she changes her mind?”

“Then let _her_ tell you,” Zuko said. “Katara knows you like her. If she feels the same way, she’ll let you know.” 

“What if she doesn’t change her mind?” Aang asked. Zuko reached out and put a hand on his young friend’s shoulder sympathetically. 

“Look, very few people end up with their first crush,” Zuko said.  
  


“It’s _not_ a crush!” Aang insisted. “I _love_ Katara. That’s different! I can’t feel this way about her if we’re not _supposed_ to be together. She’s my forever girl! She’ll come around. She _has_ to. It’s destiny!” Zuko dropped his hand from Aang’s shoulder. His jaw tightened, and had to clench his teeth to keep from speaking rashly. 

“If you love Katara the way you claim to, then you need to allow her to make her own choice,” Zuko said. “Even if she decides that she _doesn’t_ want to be with you. Because real love means putting someone else ahead of yourself.” 

“But what about me?” Aang looked away sullenly. “What about _my_ feelings?” 

“They might get hurt,” Zuko replied honestly. “But it won’t kill you.” The look on Aang’s face announced his disbelief.

Sokka came back then, jogging up from the beach. He dropped on to the porch steps next to Aang, his face a severe mask that made him look years older than sixteen.

“Zuko, can I have a moment with Aang?” he asked. Zuko furrowed his brow questioningly, but must have seen the answer in Sokka’s face. He stood up and headed inside. 

“I’ll get dinner started,” he said. “The girls will be back soon.” When he was gone, Sokka turned back to Aang, with that serious look still on his face. 

“I have been trying to think about what to say to you,” he began. “I think I should have had this talk with you a while ago. I’ve known how you feel about Katara for months, but I didn’t say anything because frankly it hasn’t been my business. Until now.” 

“What are you talking about?” Aang asked. 

“If you had been anyone else, I would fight you for what you did to Katara,” Sokka said. “Of course, had you been anyone else, Katara would probably have fought you herself.” 

“You...you think she likes me then?” Aang asked hopefully. 

“No,” Sokka shot Aang an irritated look. “ _I_ think she’s trying to be careful with your feelings. But that’s between you and her. What I want to say to _you_ is that despite the fact that you are the Avatar, and everyone in the world is impressed enough to treat you differently, you don’t have the right to just take anything you want. If Katara likes you the way you like her, then great for you. But if you treat her like you have been- if you treat her like you have some sort of claim on her without talking to her. If you kiss her or even touch her without her permission, or try to pressure her in _any_ way, then as her big brother, it will be my _pleasure_ to pound you into the dust. Am I clear?

Aang stared up at Sokka with wide, fearful eyes. From the trees at the edge of the property, they heard the girls laughing as they returned. Sokka’s face lost its severity and he smiled widely at Aang.

“Well, this ended differently than I expected,” he chuckled. “If you have any questions, you can come talk to us. We’re still your friends. We just need you to understand personal boundaries. I meant what I said, though. Dust.” 

The day had been nearly equal parts informative and confusing, Aang thought, as he retreated inside. Still he had come away with two lessons. One, he was apparently very bad at reading women, and two, Sokka was terrifying when he wanted to be. 


End file.
